Probably so, but it was incredibly ill advised of Netflix to admit to this. That’s what I find the most shocking, far more than the firing itself. I cannot fathom how admitting “yeah we fired them for going to therapy” plays to their benefit.
Remember: the e in e-mail stands for evidence.
Were you told this literally?
The joke ain't Google specific, I might have picked it up working in finance. If you bing the phrase, you'll find plenty of hits in published articles.